Bruins seek win

Sunday, February 24, 2013 -- Stephen Harris

SUNRISE, Fla. -- For some Bruins fans a quick glance at the Eastern Conference standings could be mighty troubling: The B's stand in just sixth place in the East today, actually tied in points with Toronto. But that ranking is, of course, deceptive. The B's have played only 14 games and the teams ahead of them have all played more -- Ottawa five more, Montreal, Pittsburgh and New Jersey four more and Tampa three more. The B's light schedule ends today, and it's basically games every other day -- or back-to-backs -- the rest of the way.

"Starting this afternoon it's the end of the easy schedule and the tough one kicks on," said B's coach Claude Julien early this afternoon before his team's clash with the Panthers. "We have some games-in-hand that we have to win along the way if we want to get back to being one of the top teams."

Julien reiterated his assessment that the results so far have been okay, but can be better.

"We've got a lot of guys right now who are playing okay, but we know they can be a little bit better," he said. "As individuals improve so does our team. We've had guys who have had great starts; we've got guys who've been okay and can be better. You want to keep progressing as the year goes on."

Tuukka Rask is expected to be in nets for the Bruins against the Panthers today. The Panthers are 1-3-3 in their last seven games. This is Stop 4 on the B's season-long five-game trip. The B's are 6-1-1 on the road. They stick around for one last night at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, then jet north to Long Island tomorrow morning. They practice tomorrow and face the Islanders Tuesday night.